Knowledge for Change (K4C) was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales in January 2012 (no. 1146911). Our charitable objectives are to improve the standard of healthcare and education provision for the poorest members of society in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). For over 15 years, we have been working across multiple hospitals and health centres in Uganda, and more recently in Tanzania, to sustainably improve health systems and achieve better standards of care for patients. In Uganda, we are working primarily in Kampala and Fort Portal, and in Tanzania we are working primarily in Moshi and Zanzibar.

The work we do includes the placement of professional volunteers, infrastructural developments, the provision and repair of medical equipment, staff training and capacity building, working with local educational institutions to develop new and improved undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, organising staff exchange programmes and running ethical and educational elective placements for students. Our health-related work encompasses almost all areas of care provision including maternal and newborn, gynaecology, paediatric, surgical, medical, mental health, pharmacy, cervical screening, rehabilitation, sexual health, family planning and community-based services. All our project work supports our high-impact Global Health Research which is run in partnership with the University of Salford (Manchester) and other UK and international Universities.

The primary role of our volunteers is to work alongside health workers from similar professional backgrounds in public health facilities in Uganda and Tanzania to exchange valuable knowledge, skills and experience. Our charity works with several health facilities, ranging from comprehensive large urban hospitals down to small rural health centres and community based organisations. Our volunteers also contribute towards the design, implementation and evaluation of our charity’s wide-ranging projects as applicable at the time of their placement, some of which are research based. Our volunteers are expected to be on placement 5 days per week and to work standard 7.5 hour days, however they do not work on evenings, weekends or public holidays and are also entitled to annual leave.

We provide dedicated, risk-assessed accommodation for all our volunteers in shared (multi-occupancy) houses. All accommodations are secure and comfortable, and are within walking distance of all necessary amenities.

Each volunteer is assigned a clinical mentor, and we have an experienced team of project managers based in the UK, Uganda and Tanzania who provide advice and support for volunteers before, during and after their placements. We have our own vehicles and trusted drivers to provide airport transfers and any other transport required for placement purposes.